Transformation Through Adversity
Andrea works for the Pulmonary Rehabilitation service at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals which, prior to 2020, was a fully face to face service, mainly delivered through group sessions. The Covid-19 pandemic meant that face to face appointment for her vulnerable patients had to be suspended so she introduced the myCOPD app to offer patients the information and tools they needed to help them manage their conditions at home.
Andrea expected the use of the app to be a temporary solution to the restrictions of the pandemic. However, over time she noticed patients who previously would not have accessed face to face groups sessions, such as those with work commitments or immunocompromised, were successfully completing the programme using the app. Introducing the app allowed patients to complete the sessions at a time to suit them and resulted in the service extending their reach and increasing the impact in the community in the management of chronic respiratory conditions.
The Pulmonary Rehabilitation service now offer both the face to face and digital rehab programmes with 20% of patients choosing the app to complete their programme.
